5.  The applicant was born in 1960 and lives in Baku. The applicant’s surname was “Hajiyev” before he formally changed it to “Hajibeyli” on 29 April 2005.
6.  The applicant was a politician and a member of the opposition. On 29 April 2000 the Democratic Congress of Azerbaijan, a political block uniting a number of opposition political parties, held a demonstration in Fuzuli Square in Baku. Earlier, the Baku City Executive Authority (“BCEA”) had refused to grant authorisation to hold the demonstration in Fuzuli Square, suggesting instead that the demonstration be held in another location further from the city centre. However, contrary to the BCEA’s decision, the organisers of the demonstration refused to change their plans and decided to gather their followers in Fuzuli Square.
7.  Soon after the start of the demonstration, police units began arriving in the square with the aim of dispersing the crowd. It appears that the police and the crowd engaged in a series of violent clashes. According to the applicant, the police used excessive force. The applicant himself was beaten by the police in the square and taken to a police station.
8.  On 30 April 2000 the applicant was charged with the administrative offence of obstructing the police and, on the same day, the Nasimi District Court sentenced him to ten days’ “administrative detention” in accordance with Article 174 of the Code of Administrative Offences.
9.  At around the same time, the Nasimi and Yasamal District Prosecutor’s Offices instituted criminal proceedings in respect of the demonstrators’ obstruction of the police. On 2 May 2000 the case was transferred to the Baku City Prosecutor’s Office.
10.  On 4 May 2000 the Baku City Prosecutor’s Office charged the applicant, together with ten other persons, with obstructing state officials by the actual or threatened use of force, an offence under Article 189-1 § 2 of the former Criminal Code, which was in force before 1 September 2000.
11.  On the same date the investigator issued an order for the applicant’s detention on remand in connection with this criminal charge. Under the former Code of Criminal Procedure such a decision could be taken by an investigator, not a court.
12.  On 23 May 2000 the applicant’s detention on remand was substituted by a preventive measure prohibiting him from leaving his place of residence. He was therefore released from detention.
13.  Between April and June 2000 the investigators interrogated a number of witnesses in connection with the case. It appears that no major investigative acts were carried out subsequently.
14.  On 25 January 2001 the Baku City Prosecutor’s Office decided to suspend the investigation in the applicant’s case because one of the co‑accused, S.H., had absconded and he could not be located or his testimony obtained. Moreover, it was noted that at that stage of the investigation a number of other “accomplices to the offence” had not been identified. The prosecutor found that, in the absence of S.H. and other unidentifed accomplices, it was not possible to conclude the investigation and give a legal assessment of the acts of the co-accused, including the applicant. Therefore, the prosecutor decided to suspend the investigation until such time as S.H. and other accomplices were found and brought before the investigating authorities.
15.  According to the applicant, he was not informed about the decision to suspend the proceedings and he only found out at a later, unspecified, date.
16.  On 7 July 2004 the applicant filed a lawsuit with the Sabayil District Court complaining of the unlawfulness of the prosecutor’s actions and requesting the court to discontinue the proceedings. He complained that the criminal charges against him were unfounded and based solely on the testimony of police officers. He also complained that his case was still at the preliminary investigation stage despite the fact that the proceedings had been instituted four years earlier. No procedural act had been carried out during that period. He pointed out that he remained under an obligation not to leave his place of residence and, as a result, could not obtain an international passport or travel abroad on personal business.
17.  On 23 August 2004 the Sabayil District Court dismissed the applicant’s complaint and upheld the prosecutor’s decision. In essence, it reiterated the prosecutor’s reasons for suspending the proceedings and found them lawful. Its decision was silent as to the applicant’s continued inability to leave his place of residence and obtain a passport. On 14 October 2004 the Court of Appeal upheld the Sabayil District Court’s decision. Under the domestic rules of criminal procedure, the Court of Appeal was the highest instance for appeals against procedural decisions of investigative authorities.
18.  Following requests by the applicant to the Baku City Prosecutor’s Office to discontinue the proceedings, on 24 August 2005 the criminal investigation was resumed. On 6 September 2005 the prosecutor decided that the offence with which the applicant was charged under Article 189-1 § 2 of the former Criminal Code was to be recharacterised under Article 315.1 of the new Criminal Code, which had entered into force on 1 September 2000. Accordingly, the prosecutor issued a new indictment under Article 315.1 of the new Criminal Code.
19.  On 14 September 2005 the prosecutor of the Baku City Prosecutor’s Office discontinued the proceedings in respect of the applicant because, in accordance with Article 44 § 3 of the former Criminal Code, the criminal charge against him had become time-barred five years after the date of the commission of the alleged offence. The prosecutor noted that, although under the relevant provisions of the new Criminal Code the same charges would have become time-barred only after seven years from the date of the offence, these provisions could not be applied retroactively in the present case as they would aggravate the applicant’s position. The prosecutor also lifted the preventive measure prohibiting the applicant from leaving his place of residence.
20.  The applicant filed a complaint with the Sabail District Court against the prosecutor’s decision of 14 September 2005. He disagreed with the formal ground that had been given for discontinuing the proceedings, claiming that the proceedings should have been discontinued because of the lack of a criminal element in his actions.
21.  On 24 October 2005 the Sabail District Court dismissed the applicant’s complaint. The applicant appealed. On 13 December 2005 the Court of Appeal upheld the Sabail District Court’s decision.